Which cheapish printer to get?

M76

M76

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I'm looking to surprise myself with a 3D printer for christmas, I have no experience with 3D printing whatsoever, and I don't want to spend too much on it, which is the best entry level printer to get?

I was looking at the ROBO 3D R1 Plus. Anyone knows anything about this one? It seems to have a decent sized build area and isn't expensive.
 
In the end, you are going to have a lot of issues with an entry level/low-end printer such as overall print quality, software hassles, alignment/bed leveling issues, poor or non-existent support, parts breakage due to quality, etc.

I'd recommend getting something more along the lines of a quality kit like the Prusa i3 Mk2S. It's a bit more ($599), but it really makes up for it in terms of quality, support and overall features/performance. You'll also learn a lot by putting it together. Note, it's not a trivial kit - will take the better part of day to put together, but the instructions are very good and the kit is very well laid out.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
In the end, you are going to have a lot of issues with an entry level/low-end printer such as overall print quality, software hassles, alignment/bed leveling issues, poor or non-existent support, parts breakage due to quality, etc.

I'd recommend getting something more along the lines of a quality kit like the Prusa i3 Mk2S. It's a bit more ($599), but it really makes up for it in terms of quality, support and overall features/performance. You'll also learn a lot by putting it together. Note, it's not a trivial kit - will take the better part of day to put together, but the instructions are very good and the kit is very well laid out.
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Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure I want to build my printer myself. Not because I couldn't, I want a tool for my already existing hobby not another hobby :)
But it does get more positive reviews. It is €639 for me with shipping. But that would be worth it if it's really that much better as they say it is.
 
I don't know if I would call spending a half day putting a kit together a full fledged "hobby", perhaps more a printer familiarization exercise. :D. If you are new to 3D printing (I was), it also really helps you to learn the components of the machine and how to adjust/fix them should something ever break. And it does save you a good chunk of change if you have the half day to spare to build it. What you end up with is identical to the prebuilt version and all the parts are provided in a *really* well laid out and complete kit. (No fabrication involved). I'd say the time spent would be about the same on a cheaper Chinese brand pre-built printer in that you would need to spend time in fixing up all of its flaws/faults via mods/improvements suggested by others... but in the end if you do go the cheaper Chinese brand route, you'll end up with a less capable machine as to features, performance and reliability.
 
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Getting Prusa i3 is always a great idea. If you'd like something cheaper take a look at CR-10 or Anet A8, they are very popular these days.
 
Monoprice finally released their Delta Printer for $159 that you might want to checkout. I have heard good things about it for beginners, autoleveling, good resolution.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21666

Just checked and it's out of stock already. I saw it was limited quantity but damn that was fast.
 
M76 said:
Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure I want to build my printer myself. Not because I couldn't, I want a tool for my already existing hobby not another hobby :)
But it does get more positive reviews. It is €639 for me with shipping. But that would be worth it if it's really that much better as they say it is.
Click to expand...
I will 2nd the advise he gave. The low price 3D printing realm is not for the faint of heart. There is reasons why there are entire forums built around some of them and an astronomical amount of designs for upgrade parts. If you don't mind printing your own upgrades, it can be an interesting experience.

If you do not want to assemble it, you will need to spend more.

The original Prusa i3 MK2 and MK2s I do not recommend unless you own a good quality set of digital calipers. They will make squaring the base infinitely easier. You can always buy them pre-assembled too.

However, if you can wait till the new year, the MK3 is coming out. It fixes all the problems with squaring by not using threaded rods for the base. It has pre-cut 2020 aluminum bars for the base so there is less measuring to do.
 
While I'd certainly recommend the Prusa to anyone as (IMO) the best 3d printer you can get without going to something like an Ultimaker, it really depends on your needs for print quality and size. How big are the things you want to print? What sort of price range are you looking at? There's a ton of options on the market depending on your needs and if you want pre-built, kit, or some combination of the two.
 
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